Oh hey ya'll. ;)
So, I had some time off from school and was able to write another chapter. That's the good news. The bad news is, my summer vacation ended two days ago, lol, and now I have summer classes, Othello rehearsals, and my job on top of it. But I'm still going to try and write... I mean, we're in the home stretch here! Haha.
Anyways. There's no sex in this chapter, or graphic death. But there is some death, and some sad shiznit. So, sorry if it depresses you... I hope it doesn't... nobody likes to be depressed...
Meeeh. Sailor Moon don't belong to me... (yet. Hey, I'm working on it. ;)
Okay. I'mma shuttup now. Have fun.
--
Time- something the Moon Kingdom had little of.
Time… before the Dark Kingdom rallied their forces and attacked them from both fronts. They already knew they could not fight the Dark Kingdom on their territory, and before long, it wouldn't matter, as their enemy's forces would be strong enough to overcome anything.
They were truly helpless.
There was a certain sense of unease as the senshi gathered together later that evening. Queen Serenity had matters to attend to, and was not part of the meeting, much to the senshi's dismay. As they each arrived in the lounge, looking somewhat refreshed but still incredibly exhausted physically and mentally, they took a seat on one of the many plush couches and acknowledged the bandaged wounds of their comrades.
"Welcome, everyone," Minako began, leaning forward in her seat. "I know that we're all tired, but time is of the utmost importance right now."
"Right, Mina," Haruka agreed. "We have to come up with an immediate plan of retaliation in order to even have a chance of winning this fight. Our window of victory is closing fast, and the longer we wait, the less time we will have to prepare for what is coming."
There was a pause as the rest of the senshi absorbed her words.
"So, with that being said, does anyone--" Mina started, only to be interrupted by a strong, clear male voice.
"Excuse me."
The senshi looked up and discovered Prince Endymion, from Earth, standing in the doorway. Haruka was on her feet in an instant, ready to summon her talisman if need be. Michiru did not look worried, only amused, and she watched as the prince stepped forward into the room and bowed slightly.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," he apologized. "But the queen summoned me to participate in your brainstorming. You see, I have previously offered my services to her, and I would be eternally grateful to discover any opportunity where my planet may be of assistance."
Dazzled, Minako laughed slightly. "Of course!" she said. "Please, come have a seat."
The prince nodded, and moved into the room, sitting on the end of the couch opposite Usagi, who cast him a small, secretive glance.
Haruka and Michiru smiled at each other as Minako began to talk again.
"Right, so, as I was saying... we need to propose a plan of defense," Minako continued.
"Well, it seems that the Dark Kingdom will eventually make its way here. We obviously are too few in number to stop its advancing, so we have to try and outsmart it somehow," Ami started carefully.
"If we're too few in number, then we should call for help," Makoto pointed out. "Obviously right here is their focus, their concentration. So if they make it here and we stop them, then we win."
"Who can we call for help from?" Usagi asked.
"Any planet that hasn't been attacked yet," Michiru replied.
"And also my planet," Endymion interjected. "We still have a cache of warriors loyal to my planet that can aid us."
Minako nodded. "So we call for help from other planets. Besides Earth, who do we have left?"
"As far as the inner planets are concerned, Mercury and Jupiter, and your planet, Mina," Rei stated softly.
"I don't know how helpful my planet is going to be," Minako stated guiltily. "We are not a people of war, or of fighting."
"Every person counts," Haruka pointed out. "Remember the Dark Kingdom is winning solely based on numbers, not on skill."
Minako nodded. "Right. What about the outer planets?"
"Saturn, of course," Michiru began. "And I'm sure my father would lend strength to our cause." She glanced at Haruka.
"We're still recovering from our previous battle, but this may be the last one for all of us if we do not make a stand," Haruka said. "I will summon whoever is capable to fight with us."
"Good. That settles that. We will call for help from the planets. What other steps can we do?"
"When the final battle does come, we may need an evacuation plan," Rei mentioned.
"That sounds reasonable," Mina agreed.
"Reasonable, but unlikely," Ami stated. "How would we evacuate so many people in such a short time?"
"True," Makoto stated. "Perhaps we could build a shelter of some sort?"
"You mean a type of stronghold, or a defensive structure, to protect them during the battle, don't you, Mako?" Michiru asked.
"That's right," the princess of Jupiter stated.
"The only problem is locating a secure enough structure and location," Ami explained. "It would have to hold the entire civilian population, as well."
"Or more," Rei whispered darkly, though it did not go unnoticed by Michiru, who sent her a worried, knowing look.
"All of these suggestions are great," Haruka started carefully, "But the important thing is the sense of urgency. The suggestions could work, but they need to be started immediately to do so."
Minako nodded. "Of course. We've decided several courses of action. Tomorrow we finalize our plan and put it into motion." She looked at the clock, then to her comrades. "It's late, everyone," she began. "I think we should continue this meeting tomorrow… after all, we need sleep, and time to heal from our last battle."
The rest of the senshi agreed, and Endymion consented to stay the night in the palace.
"Rei," Usagi started gently, approaching the fiery young princess of Mars, a people that no longer existed.
"Yes?" Rei asked, her voice a cross between cheerfully fake and empty.
"Well, I just wanted to see if you were all right," Usagi continued, placing a hand on her shoulder and looking into the other girl's eyes.
Rei forced a smile. "Of course I'm all right. I'm fine. Everything's fine."
Usagi furrowed her eyebrows in disbelief. "Rei, I know that everything's not fine. It's okay to--"
"Would you just get off my case?!" Rei exploded suddenly, angrily, drawing the attention of all the other senshi and Endymion. "I'm fine, all right?! It's no big deal!"
"How can you be so insensitive?!" Usagi yelled, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "That was your family! How can you take that so easily?!"
Makoto placed a comforting hand on Usagi's shoulder and the blonde pigtailed girl began to sob uncontrollably on the taller girl's shoulder, evoking pity in the senshi of Jupiter, whose eyes began to tear up.
Rei gritted her teeth, using all her will to stop tears from falling from her own eyes. "I KNOW THAT," she screamed, the tears finally winning the battle and cascading down her face. "Don't you think I know that?! That wasn't just my family, Usagi! That was my whole world! My… whole… I…" She stopped talking then and was overtaken by a scream of anguish, which reverberated off the walls in the lounge as she collapsed to the floor, crying.
The other senshi stood quietly as Rei's loud, sorrowful sobs filled the room, the atmosphere incredibly heavy and uncomfortable. Minako moved forward to embrace the stricken senshi of Mars, her own eyes brimming with tears for the fallen planet.
Michiru crept her hand into Haruka's, who squeezed it in turn, and they stood in silence, absorbing the flying emotions taking place in the room.
After tense moments with the only sounds being hysterical crying, Rei began to calm down, and she sat crumpled in miserable silence, temporarily cried out.
Minako whispered gently to her and cupped her face, then gave her a brief hug and stood. "We'll continue this tomorrow," she said softly, addressing the rest of the senshi.
They all nodded, and, with a regretful look of pity and understanding towards Rei, began to exit the room.
--
"Haruka," Michiru murmured, enveloping the taller girl in her embrace. They had napped earlier in the day before the meeting, and were curled together on Michiru's bed, the glow of the Earth shining in through her balcony doors' windows and casting a gentle glow on the two of them. Michiru ran her fingers through the soft blonde hair of her partner, kissing the other girl's temple. "I love you," she whispered.
Haruka took her hand and kissed her open palm, feeling the hand trace its way down to cup her cheek. She leaned into the aqua-haired woman's touch, and gazed deeply into her eyes. "Michiru," she breathed. She felt on edge. She knew there was something up with her partner. She leaned down to kiss her tenderly, surprised when the artist pulled her down roughly into a passionate kiss.
She pulled back after a moment, gasping for air. "What is it?" she asked breathlessly, concerned.
Michiru closed her eyes briefly. "I feel uneasy," she began in a barely audible voice. Haruka let her forehead rest against her partner's.
"And..?" she whispered.
"And I have a bad feeling," Michiru continued, her voice taking on a sense of fear Haruka had never heard before. It was enough to make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
She had never been truly scared before…
But Michiru's feelings had never been wrong.
--
The next day the senshi were gathered early in the morning and began to fine-tune the details of their plan of action. They now had a location for their defense stronghold which was accessible from the Palace, and they had a possible equation system to determine the number of the Dark Kingdom's fighting strength ratio compared to their own.
They also decided which planets they would contact, and how many troops they would need from each. They were right in the midst of finalizing the details when Michiru and Rei both got a sudden flash of pain, enough to make them both cry out.
The rest of the senshi stopped to check on their condition, and they both assured that they were fine, but neither could shake the intense feeling of dread that was suddenly attached to them. The meeting continued after some slight hesitation.
"Endymion, how many fighters do you think you would be able to send to our aid?" Minako asked.
"Well, conditions on my planet are rapidly deteriorating," the young prince of Earth stated sadly. "But I can guarantee at least a hundred and fifty soldiers, given enough time to rally and round them up."
"Great," Minako said with a smile. "Ami, add that up on the list."
The blue-haired genius wrote down some figures and began to punch some numbers into her mini supercomputer. "At this rate, it looks like we may have enough power to at least equal that of the Dark Kingdom, so long as the Outers are able to keep up the same rate of added forces."
"That's awesome," Usagi said as she snacked on a small cake.
"And if we can equal their forces on the ground, all we will need is a slight edge to overtake them," Ami finished.
"A slight edge… like a dozen sailor senshi?" Makoto asked with a sly grin.
"Maybe," Minako said back just as hopeful.
Endymion smiled. "It's good to know that our window of opportunity hasn't completely shut."
No sooner were the words out of his mouth when the door burst open, and Queen Serenity stumbled in, distraught, tears lining her face. At once all of the senshi were on their feet, rushing to support their Queen, who had practically fainted.
"Your Majesty!"
"Gone…" she choked.
"Your Majesty, what's gone?" Haruka questioned.
"Is it Mars?" Minako asked regretfully at Rei's painful expression, but half-hoping that's what it was, though a tightening feeling of dread in her stomach told her otherwise.
"No," she cried, clutching onto Usagi's shoulders fiercely before sinking, undignified, onto her knees. "Saturn."
"Wh.. What?" Minako asked in disbelief. "No…"
"Yes, it's true," Luna said tearfully, and for the first time the senshi noticed that she and Artemis had accompanied the queen into the room, both of them looking as distraught as their ruler. She hung her head and began to cry, and Artemis continued, "Saturn was completely destroyed. Not even the planet remains."
Minako reeled back as if she'd been hit.
No.
It couldn't be. They could not take another loss, not now. The Outer planets were their only hope, Saturn was their only hope. Saturn was the best defended out of all the planets of the system, and the most heavily armed with orbital weapons, hidden well among the life-sustaining rings encircling the barren planet. But now…
"What about Hotaru?" Usagi asked, the room suddenly growing eerily quiet. Michiru met Rei's eyes from across the group of senshi, and in that instant felt tears rushing to her eyes, overwhelming emotion surfacing from deep inside her.
"Gone," the queen sobbed.
"Gone?" Makoto repeated emptily, her eyes meeting Ami's.
Usagi stumbled backwards into a chair, her mother's head collapsing into her lap. Rei placed a hand on Usagi's shoulder, her other fist clenched, and her head down, allowing the tears to flow freely. Endymion placed his hand on her other shoulder but he was at a loss for words. Hotaru? He only knew that she was so young… and that any loss of a life was a terrible thing, especially a child's.
"She was on Mimas when the Dark Kingdom attacked," Artemis explained painfully, a slight tear forming in his left eye. "They didn't even have a chance to prepare, nor retaliate. They were completely annihilated…"
Haruka felt her throat growing constricted, her breathing becoming more of a struggle as she felt tears clouding her vision. Little Hotaru, gone just like that?
"We think it may be a warning to any other planets who might be thinking of resisting Dark Kingdom rule," Luna added through sobs. "How horrible... Hotaru..!"
Makoto sat down in another chair in shock, joining the others in crying. She couldn't believe something like this could happen in such an instant, while they were powerless to stop it, even as senshi. She suddenly felt very insignificant, and mourned the loss of her neighboring friendly Outer planet. She had visited the rings many times as a child, and the thought of them being completely wiped out was unbearable.
Minako, too, was at a loss. Of all the things she expected from the Dark Kingdom, all the scenarios she had predicted and played out, she never expected something as devastating as the blows they had just been given recently. She stood staring into space, pondering the question of why, why, why couldn't they have done something to prevent such a tragedy? They were the sailor senshi- why couldn't they stop it?
Ami understood, now, that they were fighting a losing battle. She had done her best to produce solutions to problems they had never even dreamed they would face, but her own helplessness to solve this problem, and the overall tragic event and loss of life left her sobbing uncontrollably into her hands, her shoulders shaking from the spasms of her tears.
Haruka felt the rage building in her. She was so full of hurt that she became angry- why couldn't it have been her? Hotaru was so young, so innocent. She recalled the Answering ceremony, and how the purple-haired girl had bravely insisted she take up her duty… if she never had, would she still be alive? Would she have been spared? Haruka could not answer, she could only punch the wall in frustration and pain, gritting her teeth to hold back tears.
In the back of her mind, Michiru dully noticed that Haruka had punched the wall. She was absorbed in her own thoughts and her own sense of dread that she had been right in knowing something terrible was about to happen. However, the feeling did not go away with the sense of having realized it was accurate, leaving Michiru to believe something even more terrible was on its way, though Michiru could hardly fathom such a thing. She stood clasping her hands before her, allowing her tears to fall as they would, but knowing she was much too pained to express solely in tears.
No one moved for the rest of the evening. No one disturbed them. They were each simply lost in their own thoughts, fears, and sorrows, but in the presence of loved ones who could share the pain they were each going through; for many of them it was the only thing keeping them in touch with reality, knowing that someone else felt what they were going through.
--
Within days there was a memorial service held on the moon for those lost on Mars and Saturn. Each of the senshi and Endymion attended, dressed in their own respective outfit of mourning according to their planet's customs. It was a somber, solemn event that dampened everyone's spirits, and knowledge that there were seven other services just like it taking place at around the same time on seven other planets brought the large scale severity of their situation home.
Nobody spoke, not even in remembrance at the service. It was simply a bunch of Lunites and the senshi gathering to recall their own memories of the two planets, which made the comfortable, heavy silence even more peacefully in tact.
After the service, the senshi retired to be alone with their thoughts, resolving to have another meeting in another day, this time involving the queen, to get their plan into action. They were running out of time at a rapid rate, and each was acutely aware of it.
Haruka and Michiru, though they had been stoic and detached at the memorial, returned to Haruka's room that night, crawled into the blonde's bed, and held each other, letting their tears fall freely in the presence of their partner. They talked about their future fears and reaffirmed their feelings, but mostly, cried at the loss of the lives of not only innocent civilians, but comrades of theirs. They fell asleep to their own light sobbing, holding each other tightly as if it might ease the pain, and wishing they could take it away from their partner.
--
Okay, sorry if it was a little dramatic and depressing. But eh, with a show like Othello on my plate, it's kind of rubbing off on me... hahaha. O villainy, villainy! ;)
As usual, thanks for the fantastic reviews. I love all of you. And your reviews. Which I still print out and keep under my pillow, just so you know...
The next chapter won't be so depressing... next chapter will be the ball celebrating Usagi's birthday... but as we are in our final days here, it can never be all it's cracked up to be... -cue mysterious music-
Ehh. Heh...
Anyways. See ya next time, pals!